MIT has decided to eliminate the need for diversity statements in its faculty recruitment process, marking it as the first prestigious university to do so. The choice was endorsed by MIT president Sally Kornbluth, along with the school’s provost and six academic deans, as confirmed by a spokesperson to National Review on Sunday.
“My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here,” Kornbluth said in a statement provided to NR. “We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”
John Sailer, a writer and researcher in higher education, initially disclosed Kornbluth’s statement in an article for UnHerd. Previously, MIT mandated diversity statements across all academic fields, including the nuclear science and engineering department.
The campus environment at MIT and Kornbluth herself faced significant scrutiny when she testified before Congress last year. She struggled to clearly state whether calls for genocide against Jews violated campus policies.
Kornbluth testified alongside former University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and former Harvard University president Claudine Gay regarding the rise of campus antisemitism after Hamas’s civilian massacre in Israel.
In her testimony, Kornbluth expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of “speech codes” in fostering a culture of free expression on campus. Following similar testimonies on campus antisemitism, Magill resigned shortly after Kornbluth, while Claudine Gay also stepped down amidst a scandal involving plagiarism and her congressional testimony on antisemitism.
The House Education and Workforce Committee is currently investigating antisemitism at MIT and other prestigious institutions. Anti-Israel encampments have emerged on various college campuses amid Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.
The requirement for diversity statements has faced criticism for compelling potential faculty members to pledge allegiance to diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology. Such statements are seen as infringing on academic freedom and intellectual diversity in higher education by enforcing adherence to progressive beliefs.
MIT’s previous guidelines regarding diversity statements in faculty applications highlighted their importance in demonstrating an applicant’s grasp of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles and their efforts to promote DEI on campus.
Prospective applicants were advised by MIT to use their DEI statements to showcase their commitment to fostering academic inclusivity for various identity groups. The decision by MIT to eliminate diversity statements raises questions about whether other prestigious universities will follow suit and reconsider their stance on diversity statements.
In recent times, elite universities nationwide have integrated extensive DEI structures into student life and administrative frameworks, particularly in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the social unrest it sparked in the summer of 2020.
Some conservative-leaning states have taken steps to prohibit DEI structures on college campuses due to concerns about their promotion of left-wing ideologies and imposition of academic conformity.
